Via Christi expands simulation programs for staff, medical residents

Megan Welsh and Adrianne Rexwinkle, registered nurses at Via Christi St. Joseph, work through a simulation on a mannequin at Via Christi St. Francis last week. Via Christi wants to expand its simulation program to improve patient outcomes.
The Wichita Eagle

Megan Welsh and Adrianne Rexwinkle, registered nurses at Via Christi St. Joseph, work through a simulation on a mannequin at Via Christi St. Francis last week. Via Christi wants to expand its simulation program to improve patient outcomes.
The Wichita Eagle

Simulation allows physicians, nurses and other members of a medical team to practice with mannequins and computerized equipment for medical situations.

The computers can be programmed for a variety of situations – such as giving birth or going into cardiac arrest – and have become a popular way for students and health care professionals to learn or brush up on their skills.

Via Christi started its simulation program last year.

So far, about 350 Via Christi employees have participated, said Jennifer Rodgers, senior director of education and clinical practice at Via Christi.

Each week, the hospital has been holding simulations for different groups of first-year internal medicine residents. Individual residents go through simulations about once every five weeks, said Jennifer Jackson, associate program director of internal medicine at the KU School of Medicine, who oversees residents and medical students and also serves as medical director for transitional clinics at Via Christi Hospitals Wichita.

Jackson said the hospital hopes to expand the program to second- and third-year residents as well as other residency programs.

“We originally approached Via Christi about building this program not so much to practice skills for rapid responses and codes but to build teamwork skills,” Jackson said.

“Our residents are in charge of these emergency situations in the hospital, and they did not really know how to initiate being a team leader, walking into a room full of 20 people in a chaotic situation and taking it over and being able to lead that group.”

“This site is mobile so we can take it out to the different floors, pulling in staff that’s not aware it’s a simulation and calling a code and having people that need to respond come and give more experience,” Jackson said.

So far, residents say they enjoy the simulation practice.

“Everyone has a role to play, so recognizing the different roles and knowing how we fit into the team has been very beneficial,” said Katilin Ditch, first-year internal medicine resident at Via Christi.